United States Senate

E886

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress, composed of two senators from each state who share responsibility for making federal laws, confirming key executive and judicial appointments, and ratifying treaties.

All labels observed (16)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (57)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chamber of the United States Congress
upper house of bicameral legislature
clotureThreshold three-fifths of Senators duly chosen and sworn (typically 60)
confirms Cabinet-level appointments
Supreme Court justices
ambassadors
federal judges
contrastedWith United States House of Representatives representation by population
country United States of America
createdBy Article I of the United States Constitution
surface form: Constitution of the United States, Article I
dateEstablished 1789
establishedBy United States Constitution
hasCheckAndBalanceFunction check on executive branch
check on judicial branch
hasCitizenshipRequirement at least 9 years U.S. citizenship
hasCommitteeSystem joint committees
select committees
standing committees
hasElectionCycle staggered
hasElectionFraction approximately one-third of seats every two years
hasLegislativePower power to approve or reject legislation
power to propose amendments to bills
power to propose constitutional amendments
hasMembersFrom U.S. states
hasMembersPerState 2
hasMinimumAgeRequirement 30 years
hasMotto E pluribus unum (shared national motto)
hasNumberOfMembers 100
hasOfficerTitle Senate Majority Leader
surface form: Majority Leader

Majority Whip
Senate Minority Leader
surface form: Minority Leader

Minority Whip
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
surface form: President pro tempore
hasOfficialLanguage English
surface form: English (de facto)
hasPresidingOfficer Vice President of the United States
hasPresidingOfficerTitle President of the United States Senate
surface form: President of the Senate
hasPrimaryFunction advice and consent on presidential appointments
lawmaking
ratification of treaties
trial of impeachments
hasResidencyRequirement inhabitant of the represented state at time of election
hasRule filibuster tradition
hasTermLength 6 years
hasVotingSystem popular vote within each state
impeachmentConvictionThreshold two-thirds of members present
impeachmentRole conducts trials after impeachment by the House of Representatives
legislativeProcessRequires passage of bills by both houses of Congress
locatedIn Washington, D.C.
meetsIn United States Capitol
originalSelectionMethod election by state legislatures
partOf United States Congress
publishesRecord Congressional Record
ratifies treaties negotiated by the President of the United States
represents states as political units
selectionMethodChangedBy Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
sharesLegislativePowerWith United States House of Representatives
treatyRatificationThreshold two-thirds of Senators present

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1,769)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

United States Ambassador to Chile confirmedBy United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Uruguay confirmedBy United States Senate
United States Ambassador to Haiti confirmedBy United States Senate
Public Law 99-514 legislativeBody United States Senate
Senator Joseph Paine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington setInInstitution United States Senate
subject surface form: Senator Joseph Paine
90th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 chamber United States Senate
Dora Ladd Baker memberOf United States Senate
subject surface form: Howard Baker Jr.
State of New Columbia hasRepresentationIn United States Senate
this entity surface form: United States Senate (proposed)
Title II – Congressional Budget Office appliesTo United States Senate
this entity surface form: U.S. Senate
ASN (M&RA) requires United States Senate
this entity surface form: advice and consent of the United States Senate
T. Coleman du Pont representedIn United States Senate
119th United States Congress hasPart United States Senate
Thomas legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: Thomas Slade Gorton III
Assistant Secretary of State confirmedBy United States Senate
Benjamin Hawkins memberOf United States Senate
John partOf United States Senate
subject surface form: John C. Calhoun
John servedIn United States Senate
subject surface form: John Kerry
Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve confirmedBy United States Senate
In Praise of Public Life setting United States Senate
this entity surface form: U.S. Senate
40th United States Congress legislativeBody United States Senate
40th United States Congress chamber United States Senate
Naturalization Act of 1870 chamber United States Senate
Funding Act of 1870 chamber United States Senate
John Taylor legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: John Taylor of Caroline
Act of June 28, 1864 passedBy United States Senate
NFA legislativeBody United States Senate
subject surface form: National Firearms Act
George S. Houston memberOf United States Senate
Napoleon Bonaparte Broward officeContested United States Senate
Raphael Warnock legislativeBody United States Senate
The Years of Lyndon Johnson setting United States Senate
Master of the Senate subject United States Senate
Internal Security Act of 1950 sponsorChamber United States Senate